This paper deals with the convective flow through a horizontal aperture connecting two superimposed large enclosures which are kept at different temperatures. The lower room is warmer than the upper room and this unstable thermal configuration generates a natural them1osyphon flow, between both volumes. This type of flow can occur inside buildings: stairwell flows or natural ventilation flows through horizontal openings. In the literature, very little information is available concerning this domain of applications.
This paper compares two well-known modelling approaches for natural ventilation in a multi-zone building with thermal stratification and large openings. The zonal approach in this paper assumes a fully mixed condition in each zone, and considers the bi-directional flows through all large openings. The zonal model is integrated into a thermal analysis code to provide simultaneous prediction of both ventilation flow rates and air temperatures in each zone. The CFD approach uses a finite-volume method for turbulent flows.
In a hot climate, a large amount of solar heat irradiates on a roof and it is transmitted to an occupied space beneath it through an attic. To interrupt this heat to attain a comfortable condition in the occupied space, ventilation of the attic is an important and effective measure. There are two ways of the ventilation, one is natural and the other is forces ventilation. The former measure should be considered prior to the latter from such reasons as simplicity in practice and power saving.
The light well located in the center of high-rise apartment building in Japan is called "Void". Gas water-heaters settled in Void discharge the exhaust gas into Void so that the enough opening area has to be designed at the bottom of Void to keep the IAQ in Void. In order to secure the IAQ in Void, a simple zonal model to calculate the ventilation rate induced by the wind force and the thermal buoyancy through openings at the bottom of Void with heat sources like water heaters is presented. And the accuracy of this calculation method is examined by wind tunnel test.
A set of formulae for natural ventilation by thermal buoyancy is derived for a room with two opening and with a linear temperature stratification. The formulae are based on the fundamental flow equations, and they cover air velocities, temperature differences and ventilation rates in relation to opening areas, opening position, net heat input, building geometry, and temperature stratification. The temperature stratification can simply be taken into account by introducing a stratification factor E and by using the mean difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures.
During a field study of the thermal comfort of workers in natural ventilated office buildings in Oxford and Aberdeen, UK, we.re carried out which included information about use of building controls. The data was analysed to explore the effect the outdoor temperature has on the indoor temperature and how this is effected by occupants' use of environmental controls during the peak summer (June, July and August).
This study utilizes the two-chamber model to simulate naturally ventilated airflow through a window opening in a common- type bedroom in Taiwan. Standard kepsilon turbulence model is implemented to account for such a natural convection flow pattern. The driving force in this space is mainly the heat flux generated by occupant's skin. The result shows that under normal operation indoor, carbon dioxide ( indicator air contaminant for IAQ ) is less than 1000 ppm, ASHRAE Standard recommended.
Airflow through houses from onshore coastal breezes in warm humid tropical climates is the principal passive means of achieving indoor thermal comfort when air temperatures exceed 30°C and relative humidity exceeds 60%. Estimates of indoor natural ventilation cooling potential have been based on indoor wind speed coefficients determined from boundary layer wind tunnel tests combined with wind frequency, air temperature and relative humidity data.
Solar chimneys are often used to extract air from a building by thermal stacks, while subfloor plenums are used to passively cool air before it is supplied to a building. This paper examines the overall flow pattern in buildings with both solar chimneys and subfloor plenums. For a multi-zone flow system in which each zone has only two effective openings, an analytical solution is derived. A sufficient condition for upward flows to occur is derived from the analytical solution.
Natural ventilation can be a part of a strategy for a good indoor air quality. It can also be a way to realise night time ventilation during warm periods. In this latter case, the aim is to cool down the thermal mass of the building to obtain a better thermal comfort during daytime. Night time ventilation requires high ventilation rates and sufficient accessible thermal mass. The ventilation openings have to be well designed to avoid undesirable effects like rain, pollution and burglary.